Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche forcefully defended his record Wednesday during a Senate confirmation hearing after Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questioned his handling of matters related to former Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents investigation, as reported by Red State.

The exchange occurred during Blanche's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee as lawmakers considered his nomination to serve as attorney general.

Blanche has served as acting attorney general since April, following the departure of Pam Bondi.

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One of the hearing's most contentious moments came when Schiff questioned Blanche about Volume II of former Special Counsel Jack Smith's final report, which concerns the classified documents investigation involving President Donald Trump.

Schiff argued that Blanche should have supported releasing the report and suggested that withholding it presented a conflict of interest because Blanche had previously represented Trump.

"You've also refused to release Volume II of the Special Counsel's report. That was an investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents case. How is that not an abundant conflict of interest? Refusing to release to the public an investigative report of an investigation into your client?" Schiff asked.

Blanche began responding by noting that decisions regarding the report had involved the courts.

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"I am not a judge, a federal judge —"

Schiff interrupted before Blanche could finish.

"No, no, no, no, no. The department's position under you, Mr. Blanche, the department's position under you, Mr. Blanche, was to not release the report. But if you went into court asking them to release it, it would be released by now. So how is that not a patent conflict of interest?"

Blanche rejected Schiff's characterization of the timeline, stating that the decisions Schiff referenced occurred before Blanche assumed his current position.

"What you're saying happens to not be true. I did not do that. What you're talking about happened before."

Schiff then asked Blanche whether he supported releasing Volume II of the report.

"So do you support the release of Volume II?"

Blanche responded that he did not, while also emphasizing that he had recused himself from matters involving the case.

"No, I don't — but I'm recused and had nothing to do with that case. You can't accuse me of violating my ethical rules and then lie about what I did."

The classified documents report became the subject of multiple court proceedings after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked its release on several occasions.

The hearing also included broader disagreements between Schiff and Blanche over Justice Department personnel decisions and actions taken by the Trump administration.

According to the hearing, the two exchanged views on the dismissal of federal prosecutors, as well as President Donald Trump's pardons of numerous January 6 defendants.

Blanche defended his conduct throughout the hearing and repeatedly disputed Schiff's assertions regarding his involvement in decisions surrounding the classified documents investigation.

The exchange marked one of several heated moments during Wednesday's confirmation hearing, as Democratic senators pressed Blanche on his prior legal representation of Trump and his leadership of the Justice Department.

Blanche maintained that ethical rules required him to recuse himself from matters involving his former client and argued that Schiff's accusations incorrectly attributed actions to him that occurred before he became acting attorney general.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is continuing its consideration of Blanche's nomination as lawmakers weigh whether to advance him for a full Senate confirmation vote.

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